The new enemy

How many friends of yours, or even yourself, are constantly having debates about the evil that is Microsoft and Bill Gates (I know, he’s no longer at MS yet people still go on about him)?

Well, I think it’s time to leave that behind and focus on a more evil and direct threat.

If you have been living under a rock, or perhaps your not the type of user who checks out on news related to the world of Linux or Open Source, well, I will update you.

A few months back, Sun Microsystems, the company behind Java, OpenOffice.org, MySQL and VirtualBox to name a few, got taken over by the company named Oracle. Now I imagine you will know who Oracle is, and that they too have a database system.

For many of us, we looked a little uncomfortable at the deal and wondered what they had planned. And then it happened.

An almost immediate assault on many of the great things that Open Source has brought to us had occurred. And not mildly either. Let me tell you exactly what is going on and see how different this threat is to the one we all seem to think Microsoft has.

Firstly, Microsoft may be evil in their way of business practice, but let’s face it, we are the ones that are making a big deal out of them. They have never really done anything so terrible to directly assault us. The worst they have done is made their own software and technology only available to their users. In war talk it means the battle with Microsoft was more like a cold war which was fought on the Microsoft lands.

Now Oracle.

Rumours have surfaced about the future of MySQL, at the time of writing these are just rumours but if it is true, we are looking at perhaps paying for MySQL or that it will seize to exist. But now for the facts:

The fastest growing mobile platform at the moment is Android, if sales continue to go the way they are, then it will not be long until Android is the number 1 OS on a mobile device. But here comes the problem. Android uses for pretty much everything Dalvik, which in easy terms is a kind of Java programming. And Java as we know is now owned by Oracle. Oracle claims that Google’s Android breaches 7 patents that now belong to Oracle, including Dalvik.
The rediculous part of that affair, is what Oracle is trying to achieve. Oracle has stated that they are looking for a large undisclosed amount of compensation, and also for the discontinuation of Android OS. In other words, they are trying to kill off Android.

It doesn’t end there though. The future also looks grim for OpenSolaris, and due to all these attacks on the Open Source world, it has split the OpenOffice.org community and developers in two. And who can blame them.

What Oracle seems to have forgotten however, is that in the world of cyber war tactics, the Open Source community is not an army, they are a guerilla force. They fight back, and they retaliate, and will find ways to punch holes into their enemy and keep there products open source. Even if under another name.

Therefore I wish to give a special mention the amazing Document Foundation.

These amazing people have decided to stand up against Oracle and their evil ways.
How? Easy, they have taken OpenOffice.org, given it a new name, changed it here and there to stay in the legal boundary and thus ensuring it stays open source.

The new office suite is called Libre Office. Libre means free in french, as in free liberty.

Now usually, I would recommend programs for you to try out if I find one, and provide you with a great new software. This time however, It will be slightly different.

Are you passionate about Linux and the Open Source community?

Does this new disgusting way of attacking the open source way make you feel sick?

Then do what I do. Remove OpenOffice.org (it bears the Oracle brand, so it’s been raped anyway). And install Libre Office. Don’t worry, LibreOffice does exactly the same as OpenOffice, and looks the same, same compatibility your used to. You lose nothing.